Not one mention of a correlation between pie eating contests and maintaining a youthful appearance. This sucks.
Good heavens, the years between, say, 25 and 40 (maybe even 45-50) are the majority of men’s most attractive ones, IMHO. Why would you want to look younger? However:
Stay slim or get that way. That’s probably the single biggest aging factor for most men: the beer belly. Even when it doesn’t look “old,” it usually looks unattractive.
If you wear glasses, make sure they’re at least moderately fashionable. The look that’s been in for the past 5-10 years - small, horizontally oriented lenses in black or very dark rims - look hideous on most folks, but there are rimless or wire frames that are reasonably contemporary. My main point is to avoid “old people” glasses, as they can be very aging.
I’d recommend wearing classic type clothing - what in my youth we called “Ivy League,” more recently sometimes called “preppie,” and these days would probably best be summed up as “business casual.” That is, khaki or dark colored chino or twill pants (with jeans for more casual occasions), dress shirts (the kind usually sized like 15 and 32/33 or such), and crew neck or v-neck sweaters as needed. If jeans, then athletic shoes, otherwise preferably loafers.
I think older men can carry hair down to just about the earlobes (think The Monkees), but this is very much dependent on your own personal appearance, and as has been mentioned earlier, doesn’t look very good where there is also visible balding. But avoid the really, really short hair and/or shaving your head. I work with a guy who is only 33, but at first glance one is inclined to add ten or more years to that because his head looks like Uncle Fester’s.
If you have a double chin or very round face, grow a beard/mustache - but trim it closely and neatly. If you’ve ever seen the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton version of Taming of the Shrew - look at the background pics, Burton’s hair, both head and facial, was extremely becoming, especially for folks who are a bit heavier than would be ideal. If you have very dark hair that has some graying, that can look fantastic. If your hair is very light, gray won’t show up until it’s nearly total - I’m 50, I know I have to have some gray, but I can’t see it anywhere (I’m light ash-blonde). If your hair is medium and not graying attractively (just ask a few female friends (ex-girlfriends with whom you are on very good terms would be ideal), but make sure you ask only women who aren’t interested in dating you; otherwise you’re likely to just get warm-and-fuzzies, which won’t tell you anything of value.
The general health tips listed above are all perfectly valid, but it’s true that your genes are going to have more of a say about your appearance than your lifestyle. I’ve tried to list things here that you *can * control.
Oh, and twicky, you don’t look 51. Sorry if this makes you ineligible to date, but you really DO look younger than you are. And since we’re both straight women, dating really wasn’t an issue anyway…
As feminism’s most babelicious representative, Gloria Steinem, once said – “This is what 51 looks like.”
Sad to say, if you are in a profession where your physical appearance matters at all, you do need to be concerned about it. This goes double or triple for women.
Pretty much all the advice upthread about maintaining your health is good, and bottom line is even if it didn’t make you look younger, at least you’ll be healthier.
If your hair goes gray early, I recommend learning to dye it so it looks natural. You don’t want monochrome and you don’t want frou-frou highlights. Also, you don’t want to pay megabucks to get it colored once a month or so.
Also, don’t wear short sleeve dress shirts.
But don’t go too far; no one needs to be blinded by stark white fake-looking teeth.
Whenever anyone looks at you, shake your head violently; side to side, and up and down, even while talking. This will prevent them spotting any minor imperfections. As an added bonus you will become a popular topic of conversation amongst your associates.
Facial hair will age you once you are over thirty. You will stop looking like a hacker-hipster and start looking like a tenured college professor. Trust me on this one.
Smile! 
This is a huge one, someone that regularly breaks into spontaneous smiles or laughter looks 20 years younger when they do so. Again, once over thirty your cool angst-weary beatnik look will suddenly appear to others as a grumpy republican economist Crossfire guest-panelist. Seriousness and sternness are equated with wrinkles and curmudgeonry.
Very sad and very true. At 48, I keep wanting to put the goatee out to pasture, but my wife begs me not to. As it is, I just keep it very short, Carlin-style.
Ignore people like this. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance.
That said, you do want to dress appropriate for your age. You want to look put together in clothes that flatter your appearance, not like someone trying to dress like a 18 year old frat guy / circa 1990s Britney Spears wannabe. It will only make you look like a dork or circa 2006 Britney Spears.
Regarding long hair:
This kind of long hair makes you look like an aging hippy or a biker.
A shaved head will make you look like you just came out of the Army or like an Uncle Fester. Just get a normal flattering haircut.
I’m not advocating dressing like a slob or a buffoon – I wear becoming clothes, I bathe regularly, I pay $55 to get my freakin’ hair cut. I am, in fact, reasonably attractive. I also look my age, and don’t have a problem looking my age. Those smile lines by my eyes? They’re evidence that I’ve smiled a lot over the last half century. Sure I could botox them away – but why? I’ve earned them.
I don’t think this is always true. It really depends on the facial hair and the shape of the person’s face. Mr. Athena, IMO, looks better with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard than he does clean shaven. When shaved, he looks like a baby faced engineer geek. With a little facial hair, he looks a little more on the tough side (but not redneck) and masculine.
It very much depends on the person though. And facial hair always needs to be trimmed; the long hipppy/mountain man beard thing looks good on noone.
Here are my problems with the sunscreen advice.
- It gets in your eyes and burns like hell
- Most of the skin damage most probably was caused by over-tanning/sunburns when you were a child
- If I wear sunscreen most of the time, the ONE time I don’t wear it or it rubs off, I get a massive sunburn because I’ve got no protection in the form of a tan. My guess is the bad sunburn is much worse than the tanning for your skin.
I’m not saying one should set out to get tan - just that constant sunscreen protection isn’t realistic for me.